HPV Vaccine Chat: Urge Parents to Talk About Sex

Discussions about the human papillomavirus vaccine may be a key opportunity for providers to encourage parent-child communication about sex, suggests a cross-sectional study.

Mothers were six times more likely to have talked about sex with their adolescent daughter if her provider had discussed the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine with them and included topics pertaining to sexual health and development. However, there was no such association when the discussion did not include those topics.

The study's findings “suggest that … HPV discussions could be an effective way to promote communication among parents and their children,” lead investigator Annie-Laurie McRee commented at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine in Seattle. “Heath care providers who see young adolescents can play an important role in providing information to promote communication, and we may be able to capitalize on HPV vaccine discussions to do so.”

Some providers worry that linking the vaccine with sex may actually work against its uptake, she acknowledged. But additional results suggested that mothers were more satisfied with the quality of care when their daughter's provider brought up sex and that doing so did not influence vaccine uptake. Hence, broaching the topic “might not be the detriment that many of us would be concerned about.”

Parent-child communication about sex is associated with a reduction in risky sexual behaviors during adolescence, noted Ms. McRee, a doctoral student in the department of maternal and child health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

These conversations are most effective if they take place before the child starts having sex, but recent research suggests that parents miss that critical mark 40% of the time. “This really points to the need to find ways to promote parent communication with younger adolescents and preteens,” she said. “The HPV vaccine could offer a way to do this: Basically, because HPV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI), it may be a natural cue or a prompt for parents and health care providers to start conversations about sexual health and STI prevention.”

She further noted that the vaccine is already widely recommended, most parents intend to vaccinate their daughters, and the recommended timing of vaccination, at age 11 or 12 years, “dovetails nicely” with the optimal time to start having these important talks. Also, “since HPV vaccine is delivered in three doses over the course of 6 months, it may provide multiple opportunities to build on conversations and to promote communication that doesn't just happen early, but is continual.”

In the context of the UNC Mother-Daughter Communication Study, Ms. McRee and her coinvestigators conducted an Internet survey in December 2009, polling a nationally representative sample of mothers of girls aged 11-14 years about their communication with providers and daughters regarding HPV and sex. The 902 responding mothers were 42 years old, on average. The majority were non-Hispanic white (64%) and married or living with a partner (81%). In all, 30% had a college degree, and 20% resided in a rural area. The daughters were nearly equally divided across the ages studied, and 30% had received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine. Their mothers said 7% were possibly already sexually active.

Study results showed that 55% of mothers reported that their daughter's provider had discussed the HPV vaccine with them (usually without including sex topics). This value “is far less than we like to see, because talking about the vaccine really is a necessary precursor in most cases for daughters to receive the vaccine,” Ms. McRee said. Mothers may have forgotten that the topic was broached, or some daughters may have not yet turned 11 or 12 at their most recent visit, she said. “However, if we did look at just the 13- to 14-year-olds, still, over a third [of mothers] reported that a health care provider had never discussed HPV vaccine with them.”

Just 19% of mothers said that the provider had ever encouraged them to talk with their daughter about sex. But 31% indicated that it would be helpful if providers gave them information on how to do so, the majority of whom thought that yearly checkups or HPV vaccine visits would be a good time for providing this information. In adjusted analyses, compared with mothers who reported no provider discussion about the HPV vaccine, mothers who reported that such discussion had occurred and had included sex topics were more likely to have talked about sex with their daughter, both in the context of talking with her about the vaccine (odds ratio, 3.3) and at any time (odds ratio, 6.2).

In contrast, mothers who reported that the provider discussed the HPV vaccine with them but did not include sex topics were not significantly more likely to have talked with their daughter about sex.

“We need to find multiple ways to promote parents in talking with their children about sex,” Ms. McRee concluded. “Clearly, HPV vaccine discussions are not the only opportunity for health care providers to broach this topic or for parents to broach topics related to sexuality with their daughters. But they are a reasonably acceptable opportunity, and a potentially effective one, at an age when such conversations can be most influential.”

Ms. McRee reported she had no relevant financial conflicts. Two of her coinvestigators have received funding from Merck and GlaxoSmithKline.

Parent-child communcation about sex is associated with a reduction in risky sexual behaviors in teens.

Source MS. McREE

Discussions about the human papillomavirus vaccine may be a key opportunity for providers to encourage parent-child communication about sex, suggests a cross-sectional study.

Mothers were six times more likely to have talked about sex with their adolescent daughter if her provider had discussed the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine with them and included topics pertaining to sexual health and development. However, there was no such association when the discussion did not include those topics.

The study's findings “suggest that … HPV discussions could be an effective way to promote communication among parents and their children,” lead investigator Annie-Laurie McRee commented at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine in Seattle. “Heath care providers who see young adolescents can play an important role in providing information to promote communication, and we may be able to capitalize on HPV vaccine discussions to do so.”

Some providers worry that linking the vaccine with sex may actually work against its uptake, she acknowledged. But additional results suggested that mothers were more satisfied with the quality of care when their daughter's provider brought up sex and that doing so did not influence vaccine uptake. Hence, broaching the topic “might not be the detriment that many of us would be concerned about.”

Parent-child communication about sex is associated with a reduction in risky sexual behaviors during adolescence, noted Ms. McRee, a doctoral student in the department of maternal and child health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

These conversations are most effective if they take place before the child starts having sex, but recent research suggests that parents miss that critical mark 40% of the time. “This really points to the need to find ways to promote parent communication with younger adolescents and preteens,” she said. “The HPV vaccine could offer a way to do this: Basically, because HPV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI), it may be a natural cue or a prompt for parents and health care providers to start conversations about sexual health and STI prevention.”

She further noted that the vaccine is already widely recommended, most parents intend to vaccinate their daughters, and the recommended timing of vaccination, at age 11 or 12 years, “dovetails nicely” with the optimal time to start having these important talks. Also, “since HPV vaccine is delivered in three doses over the course of 6 months, it may provide multiple opportunities to build on conversations and to promote communication that doesn't just happen early, but is continual.”

In the context of the UNC Mother-Daughter Communication Study, Ms. McRee and her coinvestigators conducted an Internet survey in December 2009, polling a nationally representative sample of mothers of girls aged 11-14 years about their communication with providers and daughters regarding HPV and sex. The 902 responding mothers were 42 years old, on average. The majority were non-Hispanic white (64%) and married or living with a partner (81%). In all, 30% had a college degree, and 20% resided in a rural area. The daughters were nearly equally divided across the ages studied, and 30% had received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine. Their mothers said 7% were possibly already sexually active.

Study results showed that 55% of mothers reported that their daughter's provider had discussed the HPV vaccine with them (usually without including sex topics). This value “is far less than we like to see, because talking about the vaccine really is a necessary precursor in most cases for daughters to receive the vaccine,” Ms. McRee said. Mothers may have forgotten that the topic was broached, or some daughters may have not yet turned 11 or 12 at their most recent visit, she said. “However, if we did look at just the 13- to 14-year-olds, still, over a third [of mothers] reported that a health care provider had never discussed HPV vaccine with them.”

Just 19% of mothers said that the provider had ever encouraged them to talk with their daughter about sex. But 31% indicated that it would be helpful if providers gave them information on how to do so, the majority of whom thought that yearly checkups or HPV vaccine visits would be a good time for providing this information. In adjusted analyses, compared with mothers who reported no provider discussion about the HPV vaccine, mothers who reported that such discussion had occurred and had included sex topics were more likely to have talked about sex with their daughter, both in the context of talking with her about the vaccine (odds ratio, 3.3) and at any time (odds ratio, 6.2).

In contrast, mothers who reported that the provider discussed the HPV vaccine with them but did not include sex topics were not significantly more likely to have talked with their daughter about sex.

“We need to find multiple ways to promote parents in talking with their children about sex,” Ms. McRee concluded. “Clearly, HPV vaccine discussions are not the only opportunity for health care providers to broach this topic or for parents to broach topics related to sexuality with their daughters. But they are a reasonably acceptable opportunity, and a potentially effective one, at an age when such conversations can be most influential.”

Ms. McRee reported she had no relevant financial conflicts. Two of her coinvestigators have received funding from Merck and GlaxoSmithKline.

Parent-child communcation about sex is associated with a reduction in risky sexual behaviors in teens.

Source MS. McREE

Discussions about the human papillomavirus vaccine may be a key opportunity for providers to encourage parent-child communication about sex, suggests a cross-sectional study.

Mothers were six times more likely to have talked about sex with their adolescent daughter if her provider had discussed the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine with them and included topics pertaining to sexual health and development. However, there was no such association when the discussion did not include those topics.

The study's findings “suggest that … HPV discussions could be an effective way to promote communication among parents and their children,” lead investigator Annie-Laurie McRee commented at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine in Seattle. “Heath care providers who see young adolescents can play an important role in providing information to promote communication, and we may be able to capitalize on HPV vaccine discussions to do so.”

Some providers worry that linking the vaccine with sex may actually work against its uptake, she acknowledged. But additional results suggested that mothers were more satisfied with the quality of care when their daughter's provider brought up sex and that doing so did not influence vaccine uptake. Hence, broaching the topic “might not be the detriment that many of us would be concerned about.”

Parent-child communication about sex is associated with a reduction in risky sexual behaviors during adolescence, noted Ms. McRee, a doctoral student in the department of maternal and child health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

These conversations are most effective if they take place before the child starts having sex, but recent research suggests that parents miss that critical mark 40% of the time. “This really points to the need to find ways to promote parent communication with younger adolescents and preteens,” she said. “The HPV vaccine could offer a way to do this: Basically, because HPV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI), it may be a natural cue or a prompt for parents and health care providers to start conversations about sexual health and STI prevention.”

She further noted that the vaccine is already widely recommended, most parents intend to vaccinate their daughters, and the recommended timing of vaccination, at age 11 or 12 years, “dovetails nicely” with the optimal time to start having these important talks. Also, “since HPV vaccine is delivered in three doses over the course of 6 months, it may provide multiple opportunities to build on conversations and to promote communication that doesn't just happen early, but is continual.”

In the context of the UNC Mother-Daughter Communication Study, Ms. McRee and her coinvestigators conducted an Internet survey in December 2009, polling a nationally representative sample of mothers of girls aged 11-14 years about their communication with providers and daughters regarding HPV and sex. The 902 responding mothers were 42 years old, on average. The majority were non-Hispanic white (64%) and married or living with a partner (81%). In all, 30% had a college degree, and 20% resided in a rural area. The daughters were nearly equally divided across the ages studied, and 30% had received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine. Their mothers said 7% were possibly already sexually active.

Study results showed that 55% of mothers reported that their daughter's provider had discussed the HPV vaccine with them (usually without including sex topics). This value “is far less than we like to see, because talking about the vaccine really is a necessary precursor in most cases for daughters to receive the vaccine,” Ms. McRee said. Mothers may have forgotten that the topic was broached, or some daughters may have not yet turned 11 or 12 at their most recent visit, she said. “However, if we did look at just the 13- to 14-year-olds, still, over a third [of mothers] reported that a health care provider had never discussed HPV vaccine with them.”

Just 19% of mothers said that the provider had ever encouraged them to talk with their daughter about sex. But 31% indicated that it would be helpful if providers gave them information on how to do so, the majority of whom thought that yearly checkups or HPV vaccine visits would be a good time for providing this information. In adjusted analyses, compared with mothers who reported no provider discussion about the HPV vaccine, mothers who reported that such discussion had occurred and had included sex topics were more likely to have talked about sex with their daughter, both in the context of talking with her about the vaccine (odds ratio, 3.3) and at any time (odds ratio, 6.2).

In contrast, mothers who reported that the provider discussed the HPV vaccine with them but did not include sex topics were not significantly more likely to have talked with their daughter about sex.

“We need to find multiple ways to promote parents in talking with their children about sex,” Ms. McRee concluded. “Clearly, HPV vaccine discussions are not the only opportunity for health care providers to broach this topic or for parents to broach topics related to sexuality with their daughters. But they are a reasonably acceptable opportunity, and a potentially effective one, at an age when such conversations can be most influential.”

Ms. McRee reported she had no relevant financial conflicts. Two of her coinvestigators have received funding from Merck and GlaxoSmithKline.

Parent-child communcation about sex is associated with a reduction in risky sexual behaviors in teens.

Source MS. McREE